agro-industrial investments in cameroon...iv agro-industrial investments in cameroon: large-scale...

Agro-industrial investmentsin CameroonLarge-scale land acquisitionssince 2005

Samuel Nguiffo and Michelle Sonkoue Watio

Land, Investment and RightsAs pressures on land and natural resources increase, disadvantaged groups risk losing out, particularly where their rights are insecure, their capacity to assert these rights is limited, and major power imbalances shape relations withgovernment and incoming investors. IIED’s Land, Investment and Rights seriesgenerates evidence around changing pressures on land, multiple investment models,applicable legal frameworks and ways for people to claim rights.

Other reports in the Land, Investment and Rights series can be downloaded fromwww.iied.org/pubs. Recent titles include:

• Understanding agricultural investment chains: Lessons to improve governance. 2014. Cotula et al.

• Accountability in Africa’s land rush: what role for legal empowerment. 2013. Polacket al. Also available in French.

• Long-term outcomes of agricultural investments: Lessons from Zambia. 2012.Mujenja and Wonani.

• Agricultural investments and land acquisitions in Mali: Context, trends and casestudies. 2013. Djiré et al. Also available in French.

• Joint ventures in agriculture: Lessons from land reform projects in South Africa. 2012. Lahiff et al. Also available in French.

Under IIED’s Legal Tools for Citizen Empowerment programme, we also sharelessons from the innovative approaches taken by citizens’ groups to claim rights, fromgrassroots action and engaging in legal reform, to mobilising international humanrights bodies and making use of grievance mechanisms, through to scrutinisinginternational investment treaties, contracts and arbitration. Lessons by practitionersare available on our website at www.iied.org/pubs. Recent reports include:

• Walking with villagers: How Liberia’s Land Rights Policy was shaped from thegrassroots. 2014. Kaba and Madan. Also available in French.

• From legal caravans to revising the mining code: Lessons from experience with legalempowerment in communities affected by mining. 2014. Keita et al. Also available inFrench.

• Listen, think and act: Radio broadcasting to promote farmers’ participation in Mali’sland policy. 2012. Goïta and Coulibaly. Also available in French.

• Sustaining legal empowerment in initiatives to support local land rights. 2012.Nielsen. Also available in French.

To contact IIED regarding these publications please email [email protected]

Agro-industrial investmentsin CameroonLarge-scale land acquisitions since 2005

Samuel Nguiffo and Michelle Sonkoue Watio

IIED Land, Investment and Rights series

First published by the International Institute for Environment and Development (UK) in 2015

Copyright © International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED)All rights reserved

ISBN: 978-1-78431-134-6ISSN: 2225-739Xe-ISSN: 2227-9954IIED order no.: 17571IIED

For copies of this publication, please contact IIED:International Institute for Environment and Development80-86 Gray’s Inn RoadLondon WC1X 8NHUnited Kingdom

Email: [email protected]: @iied Facebook: www.facebook.com/theIIEDDownload more publications at www.iied.org/pubsA catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Citation: Nguiffo, S. and Sonkoue Watio, M. (2015) Agro-industrial investments in Cameroon: Large-scale land acquisitions since 2005. IIED, London.

Also available in French: Nguiffo, S. and Sonkoue, M. (2015) Investissements dans le secteuragro-industriel au Cameroun: Acquisitions de terres à grande échelle depuis 2005. IIED,Londres.

Translated into English by Lou LeaskCover photo: An oil palm nursery in Southwest Province, Cameroon. © Jan-Joseph Stok /GreenpeaceDesign: Judith Fisher, www.regent-typesetting.co.uk and Smith+Bell, www.smithplusbell.comCartography: Cath d’AltonPrinted by Full Spectrum Print Media, an ISO14001 accredited printer in the UK, usingvegetable based inks on a 100% recycled material

Contents i

Contents

List of tables......................................................................................................................................................................................iiList of figures ....................................................................................................................................................................................iiAcronyms ..........................................................................................................................................................................................iiiAbout the authors ......................................................................................................................................................................ivAcknowledgements..................................................................................................................................................................iv

Executive summary....................................................................................................................................................................1

1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................................31.1 The issue and relevance of this study............................................................................................31.2 Study objective..................................................................................................................................................41.3 Methodology ......................................................................................................................................................51.4 Difficulties encountered and limitations of the study ......................................................71.5 Structure of this report................................................................................................................................9

2. The challenge of reconciling different uses of land and resources ......................................102.1 The forestry sector......................................................................................................................................102.2 Resource extraction ..................................................................................................................................102.3 Agro-industries..............................................................................................................................................122.4 A policy of encouraging investment............................................................................................13

3. Determinants and characteristics of large-scale land acquisitions......................................163.1 Determinants ..................................................................................................................................................163.2 Characteristics ..............................................................................................................................................21

4. Legal framework ................................................................................................................................................................384.1 Categories of land ......................................................................................................................................384.2 The dynamics of land allocations ..................................................................................................384.3 Procedures for making land available........................................................................................394.4 Requirements imposed on investors seeking land........................................................414.5 The type of rights sought by companies ................................................................................42

5. Impacts ......................................................................................................................................................................................485.1 Lack of transparency ................................................................................................................................485.2 Land concessions and local development ..........................................................................485.3 Consideration of the environment and social factors by agro-industrial companies ............................................................................................................................52

6. Conclusion..............................................................................................................................................................................56

References....................................................................................................................................................................................58

ii Agro-industrial investments in Cameroon: Large-scale land acquisitions since 2005

List of tables

Table 1. Number of respondents by region and stakeholder type..................................................8Table 2. Distribution of forest lands in Cameroon, 2012 ....................................................................11Table 3. Agro-industrial companies in Cameroon before 2005 ..................................................12Table 4. Amount of land requested or controlled by each company,

and its country of origin..............................................................................................................................................23Table 5. Volume of imported basic produce in Cameroon, 2005-11......................................27Table 6. Crops planned by companies seeking or holding land concessions ................28Table 7. Annual rents for agricultural land around five agro-industrial zones ....................34Table 8. Duration of contracts for land concessions allocated to the

agro-industrial sector ..................................................................................................................................................47Table 9. Jobs created and income generated by different production systems ............50

List of figures

Figure 1. Pressures on the Parc de Campo-Ma’an and surrounding urban areas ......17Figure 2. Number of land transactions, 2005-13......................................................................................18Figure 3. Number of investors by target market ..........................................................................................30Figure 4. Companies with primary or secondary processing plants in Cameroon......30Figure 5. Customs duties paid by exporters of industrial crops....................................................31Figure 6. Number of investors by origin..............................................................................................................37Figure 7. Pressures on land around indigenous communities in the locality of

Nyamabandé ......................................................................................................................................................................45

Acronyms iii

Acronyms

ACDIC Citizens’ Association for the Defence of Collective InterestsCAEMC Central African Economic and Monetary CommunityCDC Cameroon Development Corporation CED Centre for the Environment and DevelopmentCNPS National Social Insurance FundCSO Civil society organisationEIA Environmental impact assessmentEITI Extractive Industries Transparency InitiativeESIA Environmental and social impact assessmentCFA Franc of the African Financial Community (CEMAC zone)FPIC Free, prior and informed consentGICAM Cameroon Employers’ AssociationGMG Golden Millennium GroupINS Cameroon National Institute of StatisticsMINADER Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development MINDCAF Ministry of Public Lands, Cadastral and Land AffairsMINEPAT Ministry of Economy, Planning and Land UseNGO Non-governmental organisation PHP Plantations du Haut-PenjaSMIG Guaranteed minimum wageSNI National Investment CorporationSOSUCAM Société Sucrière du Cameroun (Sugar Company of Cameroon)SBM Société des Bananerais de la M’boméUNPH National Union of Rubber PlantersUNVDA Upper Noun Valley Development Authority

iv Agro-industrial investments in Cameroon: Large-scale land acquisitions since 2005

About the authors

Samuel Nguiffo has studied law and political science, and has been working onnatural resource management issues for 20 years. He heads the Centre forEnvironment and Development, an environmental NGO in Cameroon.

Michelle Sonkoue Watio has studied agronomy (specialising in Rural Economics andSociology) at the Faculty of Agronomy and Agricultural Sciences, University ofDschang in Cameroon. She joined the Centre for Environment and Development fouryears ago, working as a research assistant on land tenure and sustainable agricultureissues.

Acknowledgements

Our sincere thanks go to everyone who helped us collect the data for this study,assisted us on field visits, participated in local and national meetings and gave ourteam a wealth of information. We are particularly grateful to Régis Priso, Eric BisilBamamen, Michèle Ongbassomben, Yves Kede, Mireille Tchiako, TamunangDaveson, Aboukar Mahamat, Madame Sani, Monsieur Bilog, and all the colleagueswho participated in the workshops in the southwest, northwest and coastal regionsof Cameroon.

We are also very grateful to all the local people we spoke to in the sites where agro-industrial projects are under way. The group discussions and individual interviewsthey agreed to attend were an invaluable source of information that helped improveour understanding of large-scale land acquisitions in Cameroon, even if it was notpossible to publish it all in this report.

We would like to express our gratitude to Téodyl Nkuintchua, Mireille Tchiako,Michèle Ongbassomben and Freddy Mbianda. The publication of this report wasfunded by UK aid from the UK government, though the views expressed do notnecessarily represent those of the UK government.

Executive summary 1

Executive summary

The objective of this study is to assess large-scale land acquisitions by the agro-industrial sector in Cameroon between 1 January 2005 and 31 August 2013. Ouraim is to provide an overview of large-scale land transactions in the country, showinghow this phenomenon has developed, the relevant legislation, and the effect of agro-industrial projects on local and national development. As demand for land from theforestry, mining and agro-industrial sectors intensifies and the government pursuesits policy of encouraging foreign investment in the country, there is a risk that localcommunities will find it increasingly difficult to maintain their customary ways andpractices.

One of the drivers behind land allocations in Cameroon is the misconception thatvast tracts of land are not used productively, even though various sociologicalstudies have shown that they are in fact under traditional production systems.Customary law has a complex and nuanced notion of ownership that includesspaces and resources that are collectively owned by communities, unlike statutorylaw, which only recognises local people’s right to use land. The recent wave ofinvestment and growing demand for land in Cameroon was largely triggered by theglobal financial and food crises, and is likely to be intensified by the moratorium onthe creation of oil palm plantations in Indonesia, increased use of biofuels bycountries in the European Union, and investments by the Cameroonian elite. On thesupply side, the Cameroonian government is encouraging large-scale investments inorder to achieve its economic development objectives. Another factor that hasallowed this phenomenon to develop is a general lack of public information aboutlarge-scale land allocations.

Land allocations in Cameroon take many, sometimes surprising, forms. Investorshave also become more diverse: in the past they were mainly companies traditionallyinvolved in agro-industry or drawn into it through privatisation, but since the late2000s major multinationals, foreign national companies and large Cameroonianenterprises have shown a growing interest in acquiring land in Cameroon. The size ofthe land allocations is also increasing. Companies are now introducing new cropsincluding maize, rubber, jatropha and oil palm, alongside their traditional export crops(coffee, cocoa and cotton). The general trend is to focus on production for directexport before the produce is processed, which will certainly improve the nationalbalance of payments, but does not create any real added value in Cameroon. Theprices paid for land concessions vary considerably, as do land rents. Large tracts ofland can generally be acquired very cheaply, which is detrimental to small farmers,especially those working in the vicinity of large agro-industrial operations. And whilesupport for small-scale producers is a key component of the country’s agriculturalpolicy, incoming agro-industrial enterprises arguably offer local producers hardly anymeaningful technical or financial support.

2 Agro-industrial investments in Cameroon: Large-scale land acquisitions since 2005

This report gives a detailed presentation of the legal framework for land transactionsand investments in the agro-industrial sector in Cameroon. It starts by distinguishingbetween the different categories of land: state land, private property and nationalland. Because land is in short supply and agricultural land allocations are driven byinvestors, the state needs to be very rigorous in the way that it manages land andallocates rights to this resource. Land can be made available in three ways, which areall regulated by very specific conditions: it can be sold, assigned or leased on atemporary or permanent basis. The procedure is more or less tightly regulateddepending on whether or not the land is in the public domain. It is usually relativelysimple for investors, whose main focus is obtaining access to land and exclusive userights to the areas they are allocated. However, the process does not necessarilytake account of the views and rights of local communities. Although their ownershipand use rights are recognised and protected under current legislation, they have littlepower to defend their rights or oppose land allocations, and have seen their landsgreatly diminished. Failure to enforce their rights more scrupulously and activelycould lead to localised conflicts and ultimately create instability at the national level.

At the end of the study we try to identify the impacts of this situation. One of the mainissues that need to be addressed is the lack of transparency and access toinformation about the rights that are allocated to companies and their correspondingobligations. Land allocations are theoretically positive in terms of local development,as they create jobs and improve food security, infrastructures and the nationalbalance of payments. In reality, however, cohabitation between agro-industrialenterprises and local communities has proved problematic, and it is debatablewhether local people derive any real benefits from it. While contracts state that agro-industrial projects should take account of the environment and respectenvironmental standards, experience has shown that agro-industries have manynegative effects on the environment, causing loss of biodiversity, soil degradationand multiple forms of pollution. And because these land allocation contracts makevery little mention of the companies’ social responsibilities, local expectations in thisrespect are rarely fulfilled.

While the current system, or lack of a system, seems to work in favour of thesebusinesses, it also carries risks for them, as it does for the state and localcommunities. The government needs to put in place an effective, inclusive andtransparent system as part of the current land reform, in order to create greater socialcohesion and a more stable situation for all the parties concerned.

1. Introduction 3

1. Introduction

1.1 The issue and relevance of this study

Cameroon is proving particularly attractive to investors in the agricultural sector.There are several reasons for this, not least the fact that, according to FAOstatistics,1 it has about 6.2 million hectares of arable land, of which only 1.3 millionhectares (just under 20%) are cultivated. Its appeal also lies in its agro-ecologicaldiversity, easy access to the sea and huge opportunities for irrigation (240,000hectares of land could potentially be irrigated for agriculture, but only 33,000hectares are irrigated at present).

Demand for arable land has increased at both the global and national levels in recentyears. In Cameroon, this trend has manifested itself in two main ways:

● Growing demand for land for agricultural investments from both large-scale agro-industries and medium-sized enterprises (mainly controlled by local or nationalelites seeking anything from tens of hectares to several hundred hectares of land).

● Pressures on agricultural land from non-agricultural activities. Large-scaleinfrastructure projects (such as dams, pipelines, railways and deep water ports),forestry and mining concessions and protected areas2 are encroaching upon theland used by communities (or which they might use at some time in the future). Therapid development of this phenomenon is exacerbating land shortages in ruralareas, at a time when demographic growth is set to significantly increase thedemand for arable land in rural communities.

The argument that there is plenty of available land in Cameroon is based on theassumption that some land is vacant and ownerless. Proponents of this view havehad a decisive influence on the management of the country’s land and resourcessince the start of the colonial period. The Land Law and, in a general sense, the lawon natural resources are based on this perception, even though it has beensociologically disproven. Cameroonian communities have traditionally claimed rightsto all the country’s land, which they regard as part of their customary holdings (AldenWily, 2012). However, the customary regime has a fundamentally different conceptof ownership from the statutory law inspired by the colonial regime, which regardsland ownership as essentially individual and gives absolute rights over the land (to

1. See http://landportal.info2. Article 22 of Law No 94-01 of 20 January 1994 regarding the regime for forests, wildlife and fishing, states that“[p]ermanent forests should cover at least 30 per cent of the total surface area of the national territory andrepresent the country’s ecological diversity.” Permanent forests, which are made up of forestry concessions andprotected areas, therefore restrict access to what amounts to a little under one third of the national territory. Whenother current or potential commercial land uses are taken into account, even allowing for overlaps, there is clearly ahuge risk that rights will be frozen in the long term if no national land use plan is put in place.


use, enjoy its produce or alienate it). Under customary law in Cameroon, the notion ofownership is more complex and nuanced: along with the individual ownership seenin statutory law, certain spaces and resources are collectively owned by thecommunity. Its members are allocated individual rights to these shared assets, butthis does not mean that they own them. These common spaces constitute a sort ofland reserve for the community; a multi-functional space3 governed by well-definedmanagement rules that are implemented by traditional institutions which have thepower to exclude anyone from outside the community from using it (Ostrom, 1990).

Land is central to local people’s development strategies. Most rural activities inCameroon involve using local spaces and resources to provide food, shelter andincome from agriculture, including rearing livestock, fishing, gathering wood andnon-timber forest products, producing charcoal and hunting. And land is not just aproductive resource; it also has a cultural value and shapes the identity of the peoplewhose livelihoods depend upon it. It is where they live and work, and home to theirsacred and religious sites where ceremonies are held to protect the community andmaintain people’s links with their ancestors. As such, it is a key element in thecommunity’s social cohesion and security. It is interesting to note that the changescommunities have been forced to make in the way they manage their spaces andresources have led to their rapid structural acculturation. In its annual report to theLeague of Nations in 1922, the British colonial administration in Cameroon noteswith regard to the Bakweri: “Uprooted from the homes of their forebears, settledwilly-nilly on strange soil, deprived of their old-time hunting grounds, and fishingrights, the Bakweri have retained but a small sense of tribal unity or cohesion”. 4

Today, the land supports a wide range of activities, both commercial (such as mining,forestry and land concessions and hunting areas) and non-commercial (such asprotected areas and infrastructure projects). Investments in natural resource use andland management in Cameroon are diversifying and intensifying, but it is often hard todetermine the exact status of these projects, despite extensive media coverage ofland concessions, reports about transactions that have been concluded andannouncements regarding the intentions of the companies concerned. Theseuncertainties not only make it difficult to understand the real nature and scope oflarge-scale land acquisitions in Cameroon, but could also hamper the introduction ofeffective measures to regulate land transactions and optimise land and resource useby different, possibly mutually exclusive, interest groups.

1.2 Study objective

The objective of this study is to assess large-scale land acquisitions for the agro-industrial sector in Cameroon between 1 January 2005 and 31 August 2013. In

3. These spaces are used for hunting and gathering non-timber forest products, activities traditionally undertakenon land that is not individually appropriated.4. Extract from the article A brief History of the Bakweri Land Problem; see the Bakweri Lands website atwww.blccarchives.org/2006/07/a_brief_history.html#more.

1. Introduction 5

order to contribute to reflections on this issue in the Cameroonian context, it aims toprovide an overview of large-scale land acquisitions in the country, showing thegeneral trends in the development of this phenomenon, the relevant legislationcurrently in place, and the effect of such acquisitions on local and nationaldevelopment. This is not intended to be an exhaustive analysis, but a more modestattempt to use the information we were able to gather on investments in the agro-industrial sector to identify and demonstrate trends in this domain. This report willalso provide a reference point for subsequent efforts to update the database andfollow up the short analyses generated by the study. The year 2005 was chosen asthe starting point for data collection because we wanted to analyse all thetransactions in the new wave of large-scale agricultural investments in Cameroon.The 1,000-hectare threshold reflects the difficulty of categorising agriculturalinvestments by their size, and the complexity of the task facing the researchers whocollected the data and analysed the phenomenon of large-scale land acquisitions.We chose this threshold because it is generally used in studies on large-scale landacquisitions5 and we wanted to be able to compare the situation in Cameroon withother national contexts. That said, we are unlikely to have identified all the large-scaleland acquisitions in Cameroon because these transactions do not always complywith the national land laws, especially those regarding the exclusive powers of theMinistry of Public Lands, Cadastral and Land Affairs (MINDCAF) to sign contractsfor land concessions. This makes it hard to establish an exhaustive list of all the large-scale land acquisitions that have taken place since 1 January 2005, especially thosethat were agreed in violation of the national legislation.

1.3 Methodology

This study was conducted in all ten regions of Cameroon, with the main regionaltowns used as the geographic departure point for data collection in each region.Researchers were deployed across the different departments, paying particularattention to those that seemed to have available arable land. The interviews mainlytargeted local administrative authorities and officials, civil society organisations(CSOs) in the broad sense (associations, non-governmental organisations, religiousand community organisations) and senior staff in agro-industrial enterprises.

Research team members shared their knowledge at a preparatory workshop held inorder to harmonise their perception of the phenomenon they were going to study,and to determine how they would conduct this exercise in the Cameroonian context.What did they want to find out and how were they going to do so? Who were theygoing to get the information from, and how would they manage information gaps?What level of consensus among respondents would be required for the informationto be considered credible? The preparatory workshop also provided an opportunityto present the data collection methodology and prepare researchers for anydifficulties they might encounter in the field.

5. Many studies use the threshold of 1,000 hectares, such as Theting and Biekke (2010) and Cotula et al. (2009)to name but two.


The study involved interviews with a range of stakeholder groups: administrative andlocal authorities, communities (where relevant, this category was subdivided intoagro-industrial company employees, small-scale farmers, and people whose primaryactivities were non-agricultural), local CSOs and senior staff in agro-industrialenterprises. Sampling techniques and sample sizes depended on the target dataand units of analysis.

The study sample was set up through a snowball effect, whereby each person whowas questioned suggested other respondents. The representivity of the sample wasachieved through saturation, that is to say, we decided to stop the surveys for eachunit of analysis when different respondents gave similar responses to particularthemes, even if they contradicted the researcher’s other sources.

The administrative and local authorities in this study include sub-prefects and mayorsin communes, local officials in (MINDCAF) and the Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment (MINADER), and village chiefs and dignitaries. The survey covered atotal of 40 administrative authorities and 24 local authorities in the ten regions ofCameroon. In addition to this, we had access to one or two resource people in eachvillage, who did not correspond to any of these categories but who had informationor advice that could enrich the analysis. Respondents were selected according tothe topic and the availability of the administrative and local authorities. We wereseeking information about the amounts of land that have been acquired foragricultural investment since January 2005; asking questions about the location ofthe land, how it was acquired, what crops will be grown on it and the target marketfor the produce. The team also had access to some of the administrative paperworkrelating to land concessions.

Interviews with communities were organised in each of the ten regions. A total of153 people were interviewed: owners of large agricultural operations, employees onbig plantations, small-scale farmers using artisanal methods, and other peopleinvolved in non-agricultural activities. Semi-structured interview guides were used tointerview individuals, who were chosen at random. The department responsible forland allocations had collected specific information dating back to 2005 regardingthe location of the land, the year and mode of allocation, the nature of the rightstransferred, agricultural activities undertaken on the land and the target market for itsproduce. Focus groups of five to eight people were set up in communities that hadbeen affected by at least one large-scale land acquisition for agro-industry bynational or foreign investors. A total of 17 focus groups were set up across thecountry. Members of these groups were selected from each department of everyregion (five in the southwest, three in the east, two in the central region and seven inthe south) in order to gather information about local people’s perceptions of theeffects and impacts of these investments.

Local CSOs were selected on the basis of their land-related activities and theirpresence in the research area. They were asked for information about the amounts ofland allocated since January 2005, the location of the land, the mode of acquisition,

1. Introduction 7

the crops grown on it and the target market for these crops. Reports were consultedwhere available.

Most of the senior staff in agro-industrial companies that were contacted worked inagro-industrial plantations created before 1 January 2005, or which had expandedbetween 2005 and 2012. Here, the data gathered related to the amount of landacquired, its location, mode of acquisition, the crops grown on it and the targetmarket for these crops. Annual reports were also consulted where available andaccessible.

The data from secondary sources are presented in comparative tables, while theprimary data are presented according to the type of survey. Where possible, the datafrom interviews were coded before being processed. They were also transcribedand classified so that information from different interviews could be grouped intothemes. These data are presented in tables, figures and comments, and inquantitative and qualitative analyses.

Data from the surveys were processed and analysed using SPSS.17 and MicrosoftExcel, and grouped into eight themes:

● Identity of the company● Location● Details of land use or land transactions● Agricultural activities envisaged by the enterprise● Types of jobs created● Companies’ tax regime● Analysis of the social impact of the operation, and● Analysis of the environmental impact of the operation.

After the information from the interviews had been examined, it was triangulated toidentify and categorise the different viewpoints that emerged from the units ofanalysis, distinguish the characteristic elements of trends in large-scale investmentsin the agricultural sector in Cameroon over the last few years, and determine theirconsequences and impacts.

Table 1 shows the distribution of respondents in each region.

The data from secondary sources came from reports on agricultural land acquisitionsdating back to 2005 that were available in the land registry services (national,regional and departmental registers), reports from Cameroon’s national library andthe Internet. The press was also a useful source of information, although the teamwas not always able to verify the content of its reports on investments in the field.

1.4 Difficulties encountered and limitations of the study

The surveys conducted by researchers were thematically organised according to therespondents. We used a combination of different data collection and analytical tools,


as respondents could not always answer all the questions planned for the individualsurveys depending on their particular background. The team were not able to collectall the data they wanted, partly because some of the managers of the agro-industrialcompanies that were contacted were not available for the study, and partly becauseof the difficulty in gaining access to land allocation contracts.

The main difficulties the team encountered are inherent to this type of study and theparticular context in which it was undertaken. It is especially hard to gather reliabledata on large-scale agricultural investments in Cameroon because there is nogovernment database that centralises all the information on this kind of transaction.There is a national land register, which is overseen by MINDCAF, but it only recordstransactions that have already been concluded in accordance with the currentlegislation. There are no records of the numerous transactions that are underway orthat were completed in violation of the legislation.

We noticed that the information on transactions available in local and nationaladministrations is very fragmented (even for finalised transactions) and is even morepiecemeal among communities living on and around the land in question, whethernegotiations are still under way or the contracts have been signed.

In addition to this, the number of transactions reported in the press exceeds thosethat we were able to verify in the field. This is because many reports are made on the

Table 1. Number of respondents by region and stakeholder type

6 4 4 4 4 6 5 4 2 1

4 2 6 2 2 2 2 2 1 1

6 3 4 1 1 1 1 1 3 3

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0

34 21 21 12 7 15 13 12 9 9

51 31 36 20 15 25 22 20 16 14

Administrative authorities/administrative staff

Local authorities / resourcepeople

Members of civil society

Managers of industrialplantations

Communities (includingfarmers and agro-industrialworkers)

Total number of peoplequestioned

Coastal

South

Central

East

West

South-West

Adamaoua

North-West

North

Far-North

1. Introduction 9

basis of investors’ declared intentions, and remain on the list of planned investmentsin Cameroon even if they come to nothing.6 Similarly, some investments that hadbeen announced in the press ended up involving different amounts of land indifferent places, but these changes were never reported in the media.

Therefore, this study is a brief assessment of the situation, prepared in a period whenthere was a marked increase in large-scale land allocations (ongoing or concluded),and in a context where little is known about the phenomenon in Cameroon despitethe existence of several studies on the topic.

1.5 Structure of this report

This report starts by examining the different types of demand for land in Cameroon:for forestry, resource extraction and agro-industrial use. The combination of thesedemands and the government policy of encouraging foreign investment is affectingthe capacity of communities to preserve their rights to land and resources andmaintain their way of life.

The next section explores the determinants and characteristics of land allocations inCameroon. There are many determining factors, from the mistaken perception thatthere are vast swathes of unexploited land, which are actually under traditionalproduction systems, to the global financial and food crises. Demand for land is partlydriven by investors and partly by the government’s desire to attract large-scaleinvestments in order to achieve its economic objectives. The section on thecharacteristics of land allocations describes how these fundamental changes areoccurring in the Cameroonian context.

This is followed by a detailed presentation of the legal framework for landtransactions and investments in the agro-industrial sector in Cameroon. The finalsection identifies the different, often disappointing, impacts of this situation,especially for local communities, and concludes with some suggestions for thefuture.

6. For example, an Asian company announced a planned investment in over 800,000 hectares of land in threedifferent sites that never materialised.


2. The challenge of reconciling different uses of landand resources

The current demand for land from agro-industrial operators and the arrival of amodest number of companies involved in large-scale agriculture is one aspect of therapid development of activities to manage and exploit the spaces and resources inCameroon.

The new forms of land and resource use that have been introduced since the colonialperiod are affecting local people’s capacity to preserve their ways of life and theirrelationship with nature. The conservation of flora and fauna and the large-scaleallocation of commercial rights to land and resources are both novelties inheritedfrom a colonial regime that still shapes the way land is used across the country. Thecurrent distribution of space and allocation of land rights reflect the diversity of landuses in Cameroon.

2.1 The forestry sector

In 1994, Cameroon started to divide forested land into two main categories as partof a radical reform of the political and legal framework of its forestry sector. Thesecategories are permanent forests (with protected areas and forestry concessions)and non-permanent forests (with some areas that can be converted for agriculturaluse). A large proportion of these spaces have been allocated or assigned for varioususes. Table 2 shows the amount of land in each category of forest envisaged by thezoning plan.7

2.2 Resource extraction

In addition to forest zoning, land is being divided up in new ways as concessionsare granted (in mining, oil and gas) to extract resources. This has added to thegrowing pressure on land since the early 2000s. A total of 303 mining permits havebeen issued since the new Mining Law came into force, most of which are still at theexploratory stage (Republic of Cameroon and Extractive Industries TransparencyInitiative, 2013). After many years of offshore oil drilling, Cameroon has recentlybecome interested in its land-based oil fields, and is also starting to develop its gasreserves. By 2012 it had issued permits covering a total of just over 10 millionhectares of land. However, mining seems incompatible with other modes of landand resource use (such as plantations and forestry in developed forests) as itinvolves clearing forest lands. The existence of all these mining and drilling permits,

7. The forestry zoning plan for southern Cameroon was created by Prime Ministerial Decree No 95/678/98 of 18 December 1995.

2. The challenge of reconciling different uses of land and resources 11

Permanent forests

Forest management unit

● Allocated

● Abandoned

●Unallocated

Forest reservesa

Protected areas

National parks

Wildlife reserves

Wildlife sanctuaries(flora and fauna)

Hunting grounds (gameareas and communitymanaged game areas)b

Communal forests

Total permanent forestarea

Mining permits

Parcels allocated toagro-industrialcompanies

Number

111

100

4

7

72

35

25

5

5

71

34

100

171

62

Number

342

11

34

60

237

Total non-permanentforest area

Area(hectares)

1,182,624

31,027

157,588

166,594

821,421

132,912

1,315,536

Area(hectares)

7,005,550

6,169,360

191,953

644,237

901,803

4,570,284

3,607,523

818,852

143,909

3,333,285

872,857

16,683,779

14,436,008

334,308

Non-permanentforests

Community forests

Community forestreserves

Community forestsunder provisionalmanagementagreement

Community forestswith a simplemanagement plan

Community forestsunder a definitivemanagementagreement

Logging permitsc

Other allocations of commercial land rights

Notes: a) Including wilderness reserves, productive forests, protected areas, and forests used for research,education and recreational activities. b) Hunting grounds cover a total area of 5,559,253 hectares. This includesoverlaps with other permits and/or concessions. c) Valid and operational.

Table 2. Distribution of forest lands in Cameroon, 2012


agro-industrial operations and forestry concessions shows the urgent need forrigorous efforts to rationalise and plan land and resource use in Cameroon.

Overlapping rights to land by mining and forestry permits, protected areas andspaces used by communities are common across Cameroon. (see, for example,WWF et al., 2012; Nguiffo, 2013b).

2.3 Agro-industries

Agricultural investments are adding to the growing pressure on land in Cameroon.After the rapid development of agro-industrial plantations during colonisation, therewas a relative slowdown in investment in this sector when the state became the mainplantation owner after independence. It then ceded part of its shares in agro-industrial plantations to private, mostly foreign, companies as a result of the structuraladjustment programme.

Table 3. Agro-industrial companies in Cameroon before 2005

Company/agricultural project

CDC

Pamol

SOCAPALM

HEVECAM-GoldenMillennium Group(GMG)

Upper Noun ValleyDevelopmentAuthority (UNVDA)

Société sucrière duCameroun(SOSUCAM)

Share--holders

Para-statal

Private:90% State:10%

Bolloré:70%

Private(GMG):90%

Not known

Not known

Crop

Oil palm,rubber andbanana

Oil palm

Oil palm

Rubber

Rice

Sugar caneand processinginto sugar

Existenceof a long-term lease

Yes

Concession

Yes

Not known

Not known

Not known

Location

Variouslocations inthe southwest

Variouslocations onthe coast andin the south

Ocean Division(South)

Ndop

Mbandjockand Nkoteng

Area allocatedthroughsignedagreementwith the state(hectares)

102,000

41,000

58,000

41,000

136,700

12,000


2.4 A policy of encouraging investment

Like other African countries, Cameroon has adopted an economic policy that aims toattract direct foreign investments in order to drive the nation’s growth (Republic ofCameroon, 2009a).8 In the land sector, this objective was reflected in a PresidentialInstruction intended to encourage large-scale agricultural investments (so-called‘second-generation agriculture’), which would in turn require reforms facilitatinginvestors’ access to land. At the agro-pastoral fair in Ebolowa in January 2011, thehead of state asked for a land reform to be put in place as a matter of urgency, alongwith an agricultural bank to provide financial support for new investors in theagricultural sector. Although this bank would not necessarily only be open to largecompanies, its target clientele is likely to be part of the official agriculture sector. Thenumerous small-scale producers in Cameroon will probably have difficulty accessingits services due to their lack of recognised land rights, bank accounts or presence onthe tax register or social records. The head of state set a deadline for his instruction,asking the Minister of MINDCAF to complete the reform within six months. Althoughit failed to do so, the desire for prompt action is worth noting.

8. The strategy describes how the ‘Vision for 2035’ will be implemented. Its objective is to make Cameroon anemerging economy by 2035. One of the central planks of this strategy is the exploitation of natural resources anddevelopment of agro-industries.

Source: Adapted from MINEPAT (2013), p. 78.

Table 3. continued

Company/agricultural project

Mont Mbappit ruraldevelopment project(MINADER)

SOCAPALM(formerly FermeSuisse)

SOCAPALM(formerlySAFACAM)

Village plantations–Sanaga Maritime

Ndawara Tea Estate

Share--holders

Not known

Not known

State andprivateCameroonian andforeignactors

Not known

Private

Crop

Rice and marketgardening

Oil palm andprocessing intopalm oil

Rubber and oilpalm

Rubber and oilpalm

Tea

Existenceof a long-term lease

Not known

Not known

Not known

Not known

Location

Noun

Edéa

Dizangué

SanagaMaritime

North west

Area allocatedthrough signedagreementwith the state(hectares)

1,200

3,793

4,870

Not known

Since then, Gabon has also initiated a rapid reform of its Land Law, with Order No00000005/PR/2012 of 13 February 2012 setting out the land ownership regime inthe Republic of Gabon. Here too, the main objective was to facilitate access to landby agro-industrial enterprises. In Gabon, the order signed by the president of theRepublic was not endorsed by the parliament, and the opposition of the legislativepower possibly reflects the fact that such a position is very controversial in Africansocieties, and that a Parliamentary vote on the issue would not necessarily deliver thedesired swift action.

The urgency and orientation of the Cameroonian reform can be explained by thestrong demand for arable land, which had risen suddenly at the time of the Ebolowafair in 2011. The first contracts in the new wave of large-scale agriculturalinvestments date back to 2008-09, although some of these transactions were notmade public until later. In addition to the transactions that have already beenconcluded, there are a large number of ongoing negotiations over areas ranging from1.5 million to 2 million hectares. Anticipating the demand for land, and wishing toremove any obstacles that might hamper its rapid allocation, the president of theRepublic decided that a land reform was the best course of action.

Since then, Cameroonian employers have followed in the head of state’s footstepsand sought to support government policy by encouraging business leaders to investin the agricultural sector. In 2013, the Cameroonian Employers’ Association(GICAM) started using the ‘One boss, one plantation’ initiative to encourage itsmembers to invest hugely in the agricultural sector and to help make the transitionfrom subsistence farming to modernised agriculture.9

Large-scale land acquisitions in Cameroon are very diverse. The players involved onthe investment side include large numbers of foreign multinationals and Cameroon’sadministrative, political and military elites, who will probably soon be joined byCameroonian employers. Without a systematic and exhaustive study of large-scaleland acquisitions in the country, political decision makers and observers will lack anoverview that will enable them to better understand the characteristics of thisphenomenon and the major challenges for the legislator, investors and localcommunities. More studies are needed to improve our understanding of this complexissue and help formulate proposals for a more effective legal framework.

The global food crisis caused by the sharp rise in the cost of major food items,increasing production of biofuels and the uncertainties arising from the financialcrisis led investors from northern countries and newly industrialised countries in Asiato rush to Africa in search of land to help them safeguard their food, energy andfinancial security. This crisis also revealed serious shortcomings in the structure offood production and distribution processes at both the national and global levels.

While there is no doubt that investor-led demand for large-scale landholdings inCameroon’s agro-industrial sector is growing, there is very little accurate information


9. The initiative was presented at GICAM’s 114th general assembly on 12 December 2012 in Douala. Seehttp://www.journalducameroun.com/article.php?aid=12954.


about the companies that have set up shop in the country (for instance, on theamount of land leased, the area planted, the area under production, the number andtype of jobs created, land revenues or the redistribution of ground rents). Cameroondoes not have a national land-zoning plan that divides the available arable land intospaces for agro-industrial activities and/or for small-scale farmers. Furthermore, thelong-term leases negotiated by these agro-industrial enterprises give them morestable and better protected rights than small farmers and indigenous populations,who do not usually hold rights to the land that they occupy. The land that is wantedfor large projects, especially agro-industrial initiatives, is mainly located in rural areas.Over 70 per cent of this land is not recorded on the land register, and a largeproportion of it is used by rural people who only have use rights. Therefore, it isextremely important to investigate acquisitions and investments in the agro-industrialsector and gauge their possible impact on development in Cameroon. Investorshave shown a growing interest in agricultural land in Cameroon since 2005, whenthe first wave of foreign investors came looking for land for biofuels and projects togrow jatropha, which never materialised. As food prices rose sharply in 2008, certaincountries decided that the best way of ensuring their long-term food security was totake control of arable lands in other countries, prompting an upsurge in investmentsin the agricultural sector that shows little sign of slowing down.

3. Determinants and characteristics of large-scale landacquisitions

3.1 Determinants

Although there is a general perception that plenty of land is available for large-scaleagricultural investments in Cameroon, much of this land is actually used by localcommunities for visible forms of productive use or more extensive activities such ashunting, fishing and gathering forest products. These modes of production, whichcause relatively little harm to different species and resources, helped maintain thecolonial illusion that these lands were vacant, and still colour the state’s perception ofhow much arable land is available.

While the most sought after (and allocated) land is usually not being usedproductively, and is regarded by local communities as not being in use, it isnonetheless an integral part of their land management system. These lands are partof the community’s collective property (the ‘commons’) and are not individuallyappropriated under customary or statutory law. Colonial law did not acknowledgethe existence of the commons, allowing the colonial administration to take control ofas much land as it wanted, and the only recognised rights communities have had tothese lands since then have been specific, limited use rights: they can only use theirproduce for personal consumption and are not permitted to sell it.

The illusion that land is readily available also needs to be corrected. In reality, therapid development of the mining sector (with over 300 exploration permits issuedbetween 1 January 2005 and the end of May 2013), forestry concessions (which arestill valid for a minimum of 15 years) and large infrastructure projects is exacerbatingland shortages in rural areas. The government policy of creating land reserves astools to implement its land policy could reinforce this trend by intensifying pressureon rural land.

Figure 1 shows the land shortages caused by the multiple demands on land in thedistricts of Kribi, Nyé’été, and Campo Ma’an, which significantly restricts the land andresources that communities can access for their daily activities.

New investments in the agricultural sector can be explained by several factors. Thefirst, classic factor is the combined effects of the financial and food crises, whichhave boosted foreign investment in the agricultural sector since the late 2000s.Between 2005 and 2013, about 30 companies claimed rights to holdings ofbetween 1,000 and 500,000 hectares, the status of which is not always known.

We can see that there has been a surge in demand for arable land and a significantincrease in the amounts of land requested since 2008. This was particularly markedbetween 2009 and 2012, at the time of the financial crisis and the sometimes violent


3. Determinants and characteristics of large-scale land acquisitions 17

Sou

rce:

WW

F et al.

(201

2).

Figure 1. Pressures on the Parc de Cam

po-M

a’an and surrounding urban areas

demonstrations sparked by the global food crisis. Figure 2 shows that moretransactions have been reported than were actually concluded (provisionally ordefinitively). During the study period, a total of 11 transactions (10 definitive and 1provisional) were listed in the category of land under provisional or definitiveconcessions, which is just a third of the 33 reported transactions. The situation isfurther complicated by the fact that activities started on some concessions whilenegotiations were still under way (such as laying foundations, boundary marking,clearing, setting up nurseries or production). As a result, the figures show thatactivities are taking place on more concessions than there are plantations ondefinitive or provisional concessions. These works also often go ahead withoutconsulting local communities, taking account of their rights or compensating them.

The regime for compensation in Cameroon is inappropriate for the productionsystems in its rural communities, as it is based on productive land use (such asconstruction or crops)10 and only relates to the land itself when it is covered by aproperty title.

Article 8 of the Law of 19 January 1994 setting out the regime for forests, wildlife andfish mentioned the possibility of compensation for land appropriate for reasons ofpublic utility, but gave no further indication of how compensation would be paid (forwhich resources and how they would be evaluated), and the text that was supposedto provide the details of this was never signed. Most rural communities depend onthe land and its resources for their daily survival and remove resources under theirrights of use, which are not covered by compensation. As a result, land clearancesfor agro-industrial projects invariably have an adverse effect on community livingspaces and access to resources.

The moratorium on the creation of oil palm plantations in Indonesia has also shapedthe new geography of global oil palm production, which is increasingly concentratedon African soils. Some 27 per cent of the prospective or assigned land will be used


0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20

Not known

Under negotiation

Definitive concession

Provisional concession

Figure 2. Number of land transactions, 2005-13

Source: Data collected by the authors, 2013.

10. Decree No 2003/418/PM of 25 February 2003 setting the compensation rates for crops.


for oil palm, and 73 per cent will be under other crops such as maize, rubber, cocoa,coffee, rice, dessert bananas, sugar cane, livestock and soya. The national shortageof palm oil for domestic consumption11 cannot be the only explanation for investors’sudden interest in oil palm in Cameroon. As demand for palm oil has risen markedlyin recent years, the demand for land to produce it could also be explained by theirdesire to invest in a profitable crop that is likely to continue to generate good returnsfor the foreseeable future. In fact, demand for arable land to grow oil palm is alsorising in other African countries whose ecology lends itself to this crop. Anotherfactor could be international leakage, as commitments to reduce carbon emissions inone country result in activities that destroy natural forests and significantly increaseemissions in other parts of the planet. Thus, attempts to resolve a problem inSoutheast Asia have simply relocated it to other parts of the world, with equallyserious consequences for local communities and at the international level.

The European Union objective of using biofuels for 10 per cent of its total fuelconsumption has also created an incentive to produce plants that can providebiofuels for the European market. The fact that African countries are closer to Europethan the traditional production sites in Southeast Asia has doubtless increased thenumber and size of plantations in Cameroon and elsewhere on the African continent.Growing crops for biofuels is still an option for investors, even though it is impossibleto tell how much land will ultimately be allocated for this use. One agro-industrialcompany producing palm oil has already tested the use of palm oil for biofuels inCameroon.

Cameroonian investments in the sector can be explained by a combination offactors, including the following:

● Attachment to the land, which is common among most national elites. The vastmajority of Cameroonians come from rural areas. They feel deeply attached to thecountryside, and regard land and agriculture as traditions that should becontinued. This has led to the creation of plantations in certain regions, and whatwas dubbed ‘agriculture for the elite’ in the 1980s: a sort of ceremonial activity thatinvolved considerable human and financial resources but was not necessarilyeconomically profitable. In addition to these investors, a growing number ofgenuine rural entrepreneurs see agriculture as a source of income. They areparticularly active in the southern, central, coastal and southwestern regions ofCameroon, and some have plantations covering hundreds of hectares. A growingnumber of the elite seem to be trying to obtain holdings by privatising commonlands, which is something that requires more detailed analysis.

● Investing for retirement. Many senior civil servants and staff in the private sectoracquire agricultural land that they use to try to maintain or even improve theirstandard of living when they have retired. Some of these actors use their relations orposition to help them acquire land, preferably in the region (or village) that they or

11. Although Cameroon produced around 250,000 tonnes of palm oil in 2011, it had to import 35,000 tonnes ofvegetable fats and oils to make up the shortfall (see MINEPAT, 2013, p. 60).

their spouse originally came from or worked in, or in an area with fertile soils andaccessible land. The main areas that fulfil this last criterion are the department ofMoungo on the coast; the southwest region; the department of Noun in the west; thedepartments of Mbam-et-Kim, Mbam-et-Inoubou and Haute-Sanaga in the centralregion; the south; the region of Adamaoua; and the outskirts of Yaoundé and Douala.

● Speculative investment linked with urban population growth. This is morecommon around major urban centres, where elite groups are acquiring large tractsof land in the expectation that nearby towns will inevitably expand. Yaoundé, forexample, is rapidly advancing towards neighbouring towns and graduallyabsorbing villages in the buffer zones. This process has contributed to a significantincrease inland registrations by (or on behalf of) city dwellers in villages aroundYaoundé and Mfou, Ngoumou, Soa and Obala, among others. The samephenomenon can be seen in Douala, with the registration of land on all the routesleading from the town to Moungo, Nkam, Sud-Ouest and Sanaga-Maritime.

Large-scale land transactions in Cameroon are not only driven by demand frominvestors. An important factor on the supply side is the government’s desire to makeCameroon an emerging economy by 2035 (MINEPAT, 2009). In order to do this itwill have to grow, hence the quest for investors and the efforts to make the countryattractive to foreign direct investments. Indeed, the head of state justified the reformof the land law by the need to facilitate access to land for investors in the agriculturalsector.12 During his visit to Turkey in March 2013, he reminded his hosts thatCameroon would welcome investments in the agricultural sector, declaring in hisfinal speech on Turkish soil:

“We offer huge and diverse potential for agro-pastoral activities and fisheries due tothe variety of climates and soils in Cameroon. About 85 per cent of our land iscultivable, and only about 20 per cent is currently under cultivation. Our diverseagricultural output includes food and cash crops such as bananas, cotton, coffee,tea, sugar cane, natural rubber, cereals, fruit and vegetables, root crops and manyother products. There are certainly growth niches to be developed, not to mentionthe comparative advantages that the north and north eastern part of the countryoffers for rearing livestock, especially cattle. Our pivotal position between the hugemarkets in Nigeria and the Central African Economic and Monetary Community(CAEMC) give us a potential market of 300 million consumers, if one includes theDemocratic Republic of Congo and Sudan. Turkish investors would be welcome tobring their expertise to our 360 km of coastline and the 17 million hectares ofusable forest that make Cameroon the second largest forested area in Africa. Thissupports nearly 300 usable species – of which only about 60 are used.”13


12. In his opening speech at the Ebolowa agro-pastoral fair in January 2011, the president of the Republic listedvarious challenges that Cameroon urgently needs to address, including “preparing a land reform that will enable usto respond to the demands of second-generation agriculture”. See http://www.cameroon-info.net/stories/0,27933,@,ouverture-du-comice-agro-pastoral-d-ebolowa-le-discours-du-chef-de-l-etat.html.13. Closing speech given by Head of State Paul Biya on his official visit to Turkey, 27 March 2013. Since then, ithas been noted that Turkish investors have started the process of large-scale land acquisitions in northernCameroon. There are reports that huge tracts of land are sometimes involved, although it is not currently possibleto verify whether this is true.

http://www.cameroon-info.net/stories/0,27933,@,ouverture-du-comice-agro-pastoral-d-ebolowa-le-discours-du-chef-de-l-etat.htmlhttp://www.cameroon-info.net/stories/0,27933,@,ouverture-du-comice-agro-pastoral-d-ebolowa-le-discours-du-chef-de-l-etat.html


3.2 Characteristics

a) Lack of public informationThere is little or no public information about large-scale land acquisitions inCameroon, the processes leading to land leases, the size of the allocations, or howthe allocations are processed at the local level and by the central administration.There are no public announcements regarding the demand for land and itsprovisional or definitive allocation, and information on projects is not always availableto the general public or local communities. A recent survey by CED on access toinformation by local communities and authorities around seven agro-industrialplantations (CED, 2013a) revealed that:

“The communities’ level of knowledge about the company is linear, starting withthe name of the company, its activities, the managers’ nationality, the destinationof the products, the date it was set up, whether or not there are plans forexpansion, the amount of land allocated, and the length of the lease. It is relativelyeasy find out the name of the company and nature of its activities, but virtuallyimpossible to get hold of two pieces of information that are crucial for thecommunities and the company to have an equal partnership: the amount of landthe company has acquired and the duration of its contract.”

This study also shows that local civil servants (including those in charge of land andagricultural matters) are often ill-informed about the situation, and that this lack ofknowledge has an impact on the level of information available to the communitiesthat the local authorities are supposed to serve. One of the causes of this informationgap is the absence of formal channels of communication between the companiesand local stakeholders.

The only information whose availability is regulated by current legislation14 relates tothe process for adopting environmental impact assessments (EIAs). EIAs should bemade public during the public consultation phase, with hard copies of the study madeavailable in reading centres in the project area. The obligation to publish EIAs endswhen the public consultation phase finishes. Reports on environmental audits andenvironmental and social impact assessments (ESIAs) are rarely, if ever, published.

Other information, including items of direct interest to the beneficiaries (such as thetotal amount of ground rents, date of payment, social clauses of the contract andobligations to third parties, especially communities) is not made public, and isconsequently inaccessible.

The administration does not have a well-thought or written policy on large-scale landacquisitions. This fact, and the apparently ad hoc nature of current practices, couldbe prejudicial both to the recognition and respect for communities’ rights and toefficient and effective land use.

14. See, for example, Law No 96/12 of 5 August 1996 regarding the framework law on environmental management,and Decree No 005/0577/PM of 23 February 2005 setting out the procedures for environmental impact assessments.

b) Diversification of investments in the sectorLarge-scale land acquisitions in Cameroon take many forms. Immediately after thecolonial period, large plantations either belonged to private (natural or legal)individuals holding rights from the colonial period or to the state, which had inheritedassets from its predecessors (Etoga Eily, 1971; Nguiffo and Schwartz, 2012;Tchawa, 2012). Investors in Cameroon mainly consisted of French and Britishnationals associated with the former colonial powers, and a smaller number ofcompanies or individual investors from third countries (such as Unilever from theNetherlands and several plantations belonging to Greek nationals).

French investors became a much stronger presence as the economic crisisprompted the state to disengage from production sectors and move towardsprivatisation. They were joined by a handful of actors from other countries, such asIndonesia and then the United States. The new land rush at the end of the 2000smarked a huge change in the sector and its diversification in terms of the origin andnature of investors, the size of the concessions, the resources concerned, and therights recognised to communities.

While investors used to be classic agro-industrial companies or businesses thatbecame involved in agro-industrial activities through privatisation, four newcategories of actor started to show a growing interest in acquiring land in Cameroonat the end of the 2000s:

● Leading multinationals involved in the agro-industrial sector from different parts ofthe world from traditional investors in Cameroon, such as Malaysia, Indonesia, theUnited States, Russia and India

● Multinationals that were traditionally active in sectors other than agro-industry forwhom Cameroon was their first or only venture into this sector

● State-owned companies from other countries (including China), and

● Large Cameroonian companies, including one that occupies over 5,000 hectaresof land in the Adamaoua region.

Table 4 shows the diverse origins of the companies seeking land in Cameroon. It alsoreveals the demand for very large tracts of land – much larger than the areascontrolled by existing plantations. It is interesting to note that actual land allocationsare smaller than the areas specified in the original applications. Thus, since 2005, thelargest concessions allocated covered 45,000 hectares and just under 20,000hectares. The company that was allocated the latter in 2013 had initially requested73,000 hectares in 2009.15


15. June 2013 minutes of the Nguti Division of the Land Consultative Board and the decrees of 25 November2013 signed by the president of the Republic assigning rights to land in the districts of Nguti, Mundemba andToko. The reduction in the size of the plantation followed a decision by the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife tosuspend operations by the company. After the suspension was lifted, the company submitted a more modestproposal (see Djoyum, 2013).


16. Information available on Hydromine website; see www.hydromine.net/projects-cameroon.htm.17. http://economie.jeuneafrique.com/regions/afrique-subsaharienne/12294-cameroun-une-nouvelle-sucrerie-pour-2014.html.18. MINEPAT (2013).19. See https://mail.cameroon-tribune.cm/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=69434:la-cooperation-cameroun-russie-comme-elle-va&catid=1:politique&Itemid=3&limitstart=1; see alsowww.cameroon-tribune.cm/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=69434%3Ala-cooperation-cameroun-russie-comme-elle-va&catid=1%3Apolitique&Itemid=3&limitstart=1 andwww.presidenceducameroun.com/news/?lang=fr&mode=newsdetails&id=2830.20. Data collected in the field in 2012 and 2013.21. http://economie.jeuneafrique.com/regions/afrique-subsaharienne/16976-cameroun-hevecam-regenere-ses-plantations.htm. This includes land acquired in concession contract at the time of privatisation in 1997.22. See www.agenceecofin.com/caoutchouc/2905-11279-sud-hevea-va-etendre-ses-plantations-dans-le-sud-cameroun; see also MINEPAT (2013) and UNESCO (2012).23. MINEPAT (2013).24. MINEPAT (2013); see also MINADER (2012) and Brown (2011).25. See www.palmwatchafrica.org/tag/sime-darby/ andwww.news.mboa.info/environnement/fr/societe/rubrique/71804,le-cameroun-cede-973-704-hectares-de-terres-au-nom-du-palmier-a-lhuile.html.26. Data collected in the field in 2013.27. See the concession contract between SOCAPALM and the state of Cameroon in 2000 at the time of theprivatisation of SOCAPALM.28. Data collected in the field in 2013.29. See http://farmlandgrab.org/post/view/22849-cameroun-pres-de-20-000-hectares-concedes-a-herakles-farms-pour-la-creation-des-palmeraies.30. See www.cameroon-tribune.cm/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=69434%3Ala-cooperation-cameroun-russie-comme-elle-va&catid=1%3Apolitique&Itemid=3&limitstart=1;www.presidenceducameroun.com/news/?lang=fr&mode=newsdetails&id=2830.31. See the concession contract signed between the company and the state at the time of privatisation, and theextension acquired in 2006 (www.peuples-solidaires.org/341-cameroun-somdiaa-sucre-les-droits/); see alsowww.cameroon-info.net/stories/0,53326.

Table 4. Amount of land requested or controlled by each company, and its country oforigin

Company Country of origin Amount of land (hectares)

Hydromine Brazil 500,00016

Justin Sugar Mills India 155,00017

CDC Cameroon 102,00018

Moscow Coffee House Russia 100,00019

Green Field (Azur) Cameroon 60,00020

HEVECAM-GMG China 59,97421

Sud Hévéa China 45,20022

Pamol Cameroon 41,00023

Sime Darby Plantation Malaysia 40,00024

Cargill US 38,00025

SNI (National Investment Corporation) pilot farm Cameroon 26,70026

SOCAPALM France 21,70027

West End Farms Cameroon More than 20,00028

Herakles Farms USA 20,00029

Guta Russia 20,00030

SOSUCAM France More than 20,00031

www.cameroon-tribune.cm/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=69434%3Ala-cooperation-cameroun-russie-comme-elle-va&catid=1%3Apolitique&Itemid=3&limitstart=1www.cameroon-tribune.cm/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=69434%3Ala-cooperation-cameroun-russie-comme-elle-va&catid=1%3Apolitique&Itemid=3&limitstart=1 Data collected in the field in 2013 Data collected in the field in 2013www.news.mboa.info/environnement/fr/societe/rubrique/71804,le-cameroun-cede-973-704-hectares-de-terres-au-nom-du-palmier-a-lhuile.htmlwww.news.mboa.info/environnement/fr/societe/rubrique/71804,le-cameroun-cede-973-704-hectares-de-terres-au-nom-du-palmier-a-lhuile.htmlwww.agenceecofin.com/caoutchouc/2905-11279-sud-hevea-va-etendre-ses-plantations-dans-le-sud-camerounwww.agenceecofin.com/caoutchouc/2905-11279-sud-hevea-va-etendre-ses-plantations-dans-le-sud-camerounhttp://economie.jeuneafrique.com/regions/afrique-subsaharienne/16976-cameroun-hevecam-regenere-ses-plantations.htmhttp://economie.jeuneafrique.com/regions/afrique-subsaharienne/16976-cameroun-hevecam-regenere-ses-plantations.htmwww.presidenceducameroun.com/news/?lang=fr&mode=newsdetails&id=2830www.cameroon-tribune.cm/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=69434%3Ala-cooperation-cameroun-russie-comme-elle-va&catid=1%3Apolitique&Itemid=3&limitstart=1www.cameroon-tribune.cm/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=69434%3Ala-cooperation-cameroun-russie-comme-elle-va&catid=1%3Apolitique&Itemid=3&limitstart=1https://mail.cameroon-tribune.cm/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=69434:la-cooperation-cameroun-russie-comme-elle-va&catid=1:politique&Itemid=3&limitstart=1https://mail.cameroon-tribune.cm/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=69434:la-cooperation-cameroun-russie-comme-elle-va&catid=1:politique&Itemid=3&limitstart=1http://economie.jeuneafrique.com/regions/afrique-subsaharienne/12294-cameroun-une-nouvelle-sucrerie-pour-2014.htmlhttp://economie.jeuneafrique.com/regions/afrique-subsaharienne/12294-cameroun-une-nouvelle-sucrerie-pour-2014.html


Table 4. continued

Company Country of origin Amount of land (hectares)

Sino Cam Iko Agriculture Chine 6,00032

PHP France 6,00033

MAISCAM Cameroon 5,50034

Chinese group Chine 4,000

Biopalm Singapore 3,34835

Sagex Not known 3,00036

Kawtal Demri Not known 3,00037

Ndawara Tea Estate Cameroon 2,00038

Agro Est N.c. 1,000

Société des Bananeraies de la Mbomé France 1,000

Tchassem Holding Cameroon 1,000

Palmist Oil Company Not known 1,00039

Société des Plantations de Mbanga France 80040

Goodhope Asia Holdings Singapore Not known

32. According to an agreement between the government of Cameroon and the company, Sino Cam IkoAgriculture will receive 6,000 hectares of land in the Upper Sanaga Division (1,000 hectares in Mbanjdockfor cassava production, 2,000 hectares in Nanga Eboko for rice production, and 3,000 hectares for theproduction and processing of cassava). See http://cameroon-info.net/stories/0,27126,@,enquete-sur-la-riziculture-chinoise-a-nanga-eboko.html. 33. Company operations are said to cover a total area of 4,479 hectares, of which 3,000 hectares are underproduction (www.agro-pme.net/actualites/70-php-je-gicam); see alsohttp://www.assobacam.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3%3Aphp&catid=2%3Astructure&Itemid=2&lang=fr for a reference to the company’s plan to acquire an additional 1,500 hectares. Thisacquisition is ongoing in an area between Kribi and Edea that was visited by CED during data collection in thefield in 2012 and 2013.34. See http://books.google.cm/books?id=roAFNRyCLf4C&pg=PA107&lpg=PA107&dq=maiscam+%2B+surface&source=bl&ots=nJJS1jxv-v&sig=0xXwvodD5qe3Q9VCBvHez1yCO2Q&hl=en&sa=X&ei=xnJFVJHqGsrsO_GQgLgK&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=maiscam%20%2B%20surface&f=false.35. It should be noted that this provisional concession was granted in March 2012, while a decreedegazetting 21,552 hectares of permanent forest estate in the same area (Lekoundjé subdivision) wassigned eight months later (Decree No 2012/3500/PM of 1 November 2012) designating the area toagricultural production. There is a difference of 18,252 hectares between the size of the provisionalconcession and the size of the degazetted land.36. See http://cm.viadeo.com/fr/profile/gregoire.maguer.37. See www.ccdi-group.eu/groupe-agro-industriel/societe-kawtal-n-demri-sa-7.php?langue=1; thecompany refers to 3,000 hectares, with a possible extension of up to 3,000 hectares.38. The company controls an area of more than 2,000 hectares, and is planning an expansion; seewww.nhtetea.com/plantation.html.39. Data collected in the field in 2012 and 2013.40. http://www.assobacam.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=81%3Agroupe-spm&catid=11%3Astructure&lang=fr

http://www.assobacam.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=81%3Agroupe-spm&catid=11%3Astructure&lang=frhttp://www.assobacam.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=81%3Agroupe-spm&catid=11%3Astructure&lang=frhttp://books.google.cm/books?id=roAFNRyCLf4C&pg=PA107&lpg=PA107&dq=maiscam+%2B+surface&source=bl&ots=nJJS1jxv-v&sig=0xXwvodD5qe3Q9VCBvHez1yCO2Q&hl=en&sa=X&ei=xnJFVJHqGsrsO_GQgLgK&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=maiscam%20%2B%20surface&f=falsehttp://books.google.cm/books?id=roAFNRyCLf4C&pg=PA107&lpg=PA107&dq=maiscam+%2B+surface&source=bl&ots=nJJS1jxv-v&sig=0xXwvodD5qe3Q9VCBvHez1yCO2Q&hl=en&sa=X&ei=xnJFVJHqGsrsO_GQgLgK&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=maiscam%20%2B%20surface&f=falsehttp://books.google.cm/books?id=roAFNRyCLf4C&pg=PA107&lpg=PA107&dq=maiscam+%2B+surface&source=bl&ots=nJJS1jxv-v&sig=0xXwvodD5qe3Q9VCBvHez1yCO2Q&hl=en&sa=X&ei=xnJFVJHqGsrsO_GQgLgK&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=maiscam%20%2B%20surface&f=falsehttp://books.google.cm/books?id=roAFNRyCLf4C&pg=PA107&lpg=PA107&dq=maiscam+%2B+surface&source=bl&ots=nJJS1jxv-v&sig=0xXwvodD5qe3Q9VCBvHez1yCO2Q&hl=en&sa=X&ei=xnJFVJHqGsrsO_GQgLgK&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=maiscam%20%2B%20surface&f=falsehttp://www.assobacam.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3%3Aphp&catid=2%3Astructure&Itemid=2&lang=frhttp://www.assobacam.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3%3Aphp&catid=2%3Astructure&Itemid=2&lang=frhttp://cameroon-info.net/stories/0,27126,@,enquete-sur-la-riziculture-chinoise-a-nanga-eboko.htmlhttp://cameroon-info.net/stories/0,27126,@,enquete-sur-la-riziculture-chinoise-a-nanga-eboko.html


While we know that state-owned companies are present in several regions ofCameroon and are expanding operations in the southwest and northeast, it was notpossible to obtain accurate information on each site or about the status of all the landunder their control. It is even harder to obtain information about the amount of landheld by private companies owned by Cameroonians, such as one tea estate that hasestimated holdings of over 6,000 hectares (4,000 of which are planted and 2,000 forranching). We understand from interviews conducted during this study that theoccupation of land by the company concerned is negotiated with various traditionaland local administrative authorities. Along with these actors, two new categories ofinvestor are consolidating their places and roles in the sector: existing, mainly foreign-owned, companies that are already in production and individual Cameroonians.

Existing companies that are already in production are expanding their activities, andrepresent 29 per cent of the companies that have obtained a Convention ofEstablishment or another type of agreement with the state. Two fifths of them havelease contracts of over 60 years and expanded their operations between 2010 and2012. Some did so in order to increase production in the short term, while others aremore concerned with securing land for future expansion as a prudent response tothe growing demand for arable land in the area. This is one of the perverseconsequences of the numerous reports inflating the number and size of theseacquisitions: even if some of them come to nothing, the actors already on the groundregard them as done deals and seek more land for themselves in order to deal withthe supposed shortages, which then become a reality. This category also includesinvestors who want to expand their operations in order to take control of new land(whether or not this actually happens), and gradually put unused land in their originalconcession into production. These are usually companies whose main shareholdersare foreign enterprises.

Most Cameroonians do not acquire enough land to feature in studies on large-scaleland acquisitions, which set the threshold at 1,000 hectares. Few of the local eliteshave the capacity to put this much land into productive use, and the largestacquisitions by the growing number of national and local elites with sizeable holdingsare around 600 hectares.41 These holdings, which are usually used for agriculture,are mainly located in the central, southern, coastal, far northern and southwesternregions of Cameroon.

The state is still one of the largest land users, through state companies that directlycontrol agricultural land or encourage farmers to create plantations on the land theyoccupy. Certain companies are involved in developing specific crops, such as wheator rice (Nguiffo and Schwartz, 2013b), and some support producers without actuallyusing the land themselves.

Investors’ interest in the agro-industrial sector in Cameroon can be explained byseveral factors: its agro-ecological diversity, access to the sea, existing and planned

41. The average size of plantations belonging to local and national elites is around ten hectares. Estimates arebased on data collected in the southern, central, coastal and southwestern regions of Cameroon betweenDecember 2012 and May 2013.


42. See http://sinotables.com 43. One project applied for 20,000 hectares, although applications for this amount of land are unusual. Plantationsowned by the elite are generally smaller, but their proliferation means that their combined holdings now cover hugeareas of Cameroon. It would be useful to study this phenomenon in order to measure its real scope and dynamics.

transport infrastructures (deep water ports and tarmacked roads) and energy (hydro-electric dams). With its five main agro-ecological zones, Cameroon can offerinvestors sites for a more varied range of crops than neighbouring countries such asChad, which has three agro-ecological zones. In addition to this, the minimum wagein Cameroon is 36,270 CFA francs (as of July 2014)42, which is relatively lowcompared to the minimum wage of 150,000 CFA Francs in Gabon.

In an internal document intended for investors, one company clearly uses labourcosts as an argument to draw investors into Cameroon’s agricultural sector. Forexample, the daily labour rate in Malaysia is between €5 and €6, which is twice theaverage daily wage in Cameroon’s agricultural sector, and the economic recovery inMalaysia has led to a shortage of manual labourers, obliging companies to bringagricultural labourers in from Indonesia. Companies can make annual savings ofUS$300 per hectare on labour costs alone in Cameroon, which (for the companythat makes this argument) would amount to a total saving of US$18 million a yearbased on their proposed production level.

c) Huge disparity in the size of land concessionsRecent requests for arable land in Cameroon have been far in excess of previousconcessions. For example, one company ori

agro-industrial investments in cameroon...iv agro-industrial investments in cameroon: large-scale...

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